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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28385049">Battalion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom'>BunniesofDoom</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Line of Succession [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Badass Ruby Rose (RWBY), Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Family, Friendship, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY), let ruby cry 2021, team rwby stages an intervention</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:21:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,460</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28385049</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby fights like a one-woman army.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blake Belladonna &amp; Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Ruby Rose &amp; Team RWBY, Ruby Rose &amp; Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose &amp; Yang Xiao Long</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Line of Succession [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Battalion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Probably should have spent more time on editing this, but tbh I'm tired of looking at it so I'm just going to post it and flee. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ruby fights like a one-woman army.</p>
<p>With silver fire blazing around her eyes and her new control over the elements, her sister seems like a force of nature. Ruby has really incorporated her maiden powers into her fighting style, freezing her enemies with a blast of ice before zooming over in a cloud of rose petals to finish them off with Crescent Rose. Yang has to admit that it’s impressive. If she’s tired from using her semblance so much, she doesn’t show it.</p>
<p>Yang just wishes that she’d let the rest of them help.</p>
<p>As they’d approached the facility where Marrow had said Qrow and Robin were being held, they’d been forced to slow down as they encountered a pack of Grimm, left over from Salem’s assault on the city. Although they’d destroyed the whale and scattered her forces, some of the monsters still roamed the streets of Atlas. It looks like they’ll have to take out this group if they want to keep moving forward.</p>
<p>Ruby is the first one out of the airship. She doesn’t wait to hear what the plan is, just leaps straight into action, leaving the rest of them to scramble after her. It doesn’t feel like Ruby had that much of a head start, but by the time they catch up with her, there’s only a few stragglers left to deal with. </p>
<p>Yang looks to Weiss and Blake in confusion, but they seem as puzzled as she is. Ruby hasn’t acted like this in a fight in a long time, since—since they first started at Beacon, really. Over the years, she’s gotten so much better at strategizing with her team and communicating during battle, so to see her fall back into this old pattern is unusual, to put it lightly. It reminds Yang of Penny, the way she charges into battle without checking with the rest of them first. Like she thinks that she’s the only one who can fight.</p>
<p>Like she’s forgotten that she has her team at her back, supporting her.</p>
<p>But there’s no time to talk about it now, not when they’re so close to finishing their mission and rescuing their uncle. And Robyn. Yang makes a mental note to pull Ruby aside and stage an intervention when they get back to the mansion. The four of them need to have a talk. This has gone on for long enough.</p>
<p>The rescue goes smoothly, for the most part. The place is deserted, as Marrow had said it would be, and for the few remaining guards they’ve got Emerald to help them sneak past. When they get to the room where the prisoners are being held, Yang is tempted to destroy those stupid shimmering walls with a well-placed punch to the control panel. Marrow talks her down. “I have the key,” he reminds her.</p>
<p>Qrow sweeps Yang and Ruby into a hug as soon as he’s released from his cell. “It’s good to see you two again.”</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” Robyn asks, glancing around at the unfamiliar faces surrounding her. “Where are May, Fiona, and Joanna? What’s happening in Mantle?”</p>
<p>“We can explain on the way back,” Blake assures her. “Right now, we need to get going.”</p>
<p>“Wait, what about me?” Jacques Schnee asks petulantly. “Don’t tell me you’re going to just leave me here! I promise I’ll help, just let me out of this cell already.”</p>
<p>“Should we—” Marrow cuts himself off, glancing over at Weiss.</p>
<p>She shrugs, looking indifferent. “Just leave him.”</p>
<p>For a few minutes, it almost seems like the plan is going without a hitch. They retrace their steps, making their way back to the airship, once again encountering few obstacles.</p>
<p>Of course, that’s when Cinder shows up. She smirks when she spots their ragtag little group. “Going somewhere?”</p>
<p>Ruby steps forward, silver flames surrounding her eyes like a mask. “Leave us alone.”</p>
<p>“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Cinder replies. “You see, you have something that belongs to me, and I’ve been searching everywhere for it. I’m not about to leave until I’ve gotten what I came for.”</p>
<p>“If you want the powers of the Winter Maiden, you’re not getting them without a fight,” Ruby practically growls. That wild look is back on her face, and she almost seems to be daring Cinder to take her on.</p>
<p>Yang wishes that Ren was here to calm things down with his semblance, or Jaune. He’s better than her at talking people down from a fight. But those two are back at the Schnee manor, looking after Oscar and Nora.</p>
<p>“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” Cinder says. “Although I was hoping for a rematch with that robot girl, Penny or whatever her name was? I must say, I wasn’t expecting the powers to have changed hosts so quickly. What, did you get tired of waiting, decide to take them for yourself? I can understand that.”</p>
<p>Ruby turns white with fury. Her entire body is shaking with rage. Ice is slowly creeping up the walls of the hallway, and the temperature is steadily dropping. “How dare you!” Ruby screams. “Don’t you dare talk about Penny like that!”</p>
<p>She lunges wildly at Cinder, who dodges easily, summoning a fireball in one hand. “Ruby!” her uncle yells. “We need to get out of here.”</p>
<p>For a long moment, Ruby doesn’t seem to hear him, but then she slowly turns away from Cinder. She blinks slowly, as if coming out of a trance. Then, just as Cinder summons a sword and charges at Ruby’s unprotected back, the world around them vanishes in a cloud of rose petals.</p>
<p>When Yang blinks, she’s back on the roof, standing next to the airship. Her head is spinning, and she shuts her eyes with a groan. “What just happened?”</p>
<p>“Ugh,” Blake mumbles next to her. “I hate when she does that.”</p>
<p>“Ruby used her semblance on all of us,” Weiss explains, sounding much less disoriented than the rest of them. Not fair.</p>
<p>“Is everyone here?” Marrow asks, glancing around with a wince.</p>
<p>“Ruby? Are you okay?” Qrow asks, sounding concerned. Yang opens her eyes cautiously and turns to find her sister. </p>
<p>“I’m—I’m fine,” Ruby mumbles, breathing hard. She attempts to straighten up, swaying on her feet—and then collapses, passing out cold. Yang barely manages to catch her before she hits the ground.</p>
<p>“Let’s get out of here,” she grunts at Marrow, hauling Ruby up into an awkward bridal carry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Ruby wakes up, her head is pounding. She squints her eyes open reluctantly—and finds three worried faces staring at her. She winces. “Hey guys.”</p>
<p>“How are you feeling?” Blake asks, handing her a glass of water.</p>
<p>Ruby takes a careful sip before answering. “Fine,” she says, shrugging.</p>
<p>“Liar,” Weiss mutters. “The bags under your eyes are taking over your face.”</p>
<p>She holds her hands up in surrender. “Okay, fine, I’m tired, and my head hurts a bit, but that’s just because I used my semblance on so many people. It’s nothing to worry about.”</p>
<p>“I would say that that is something to worry about,” Yang replies. “And what’s with you trying to take down an entire pack of Grimm on your own? Have you forgotten that you have a team?”</p>
<p>Weiss puts her hands on her hips. “Just because you’re the Winter Maiden now doesn’t mean that you need to do everything on your own, you know. Let us help you.”</p>
<p>“We talked to Ren earlier,” Blake says quietly. “He told us what he saw, that you had decided that you couldn’t lose anyone else, so you decided that you’d fight our battles for us. You know that it doesn’t work like that. We all knew the risks that we signed up for.”</p>
<p>“I know it’s hard, after Penny,” Yang says. Ruby flinches, tears springing to her eyes at the mention of her friend. Her sister takes one of Ruby’s hands in her own. “But we need you to trust us. Stop pushing us away. You’re only hurting yourself, and us.”</p>
<p>“I—I’m trying,” she chokes out around the lump in her throat. No matter how much she wipes at her eyes, the tears stubbornly keep coming. She feels Yang’s hands on her wrists, gently tugging her hands away from her face. Her sister pulls her into a hug. Ruby lets out a sob, and she feels two more pairs of arms around her. Blake and Weiss.</p>
<p>She cries for what feels like a long time, until her eyes ache and her cheeks are damp. When she finally gets her breathing back under control, she pulls back, sniffling, and smiles tiredly. “Thanks, guys.”</p>
<p>Yang ruffles her hair. “Get some more rest, kiddo. We’ll be here when you wake up.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.</p>
<p>Someday I will get back to writing other things, but right now my brain has been consumed by extremely angsty conflicted grieving winter maiden ruby.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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